Graham Hopwood in Windhoek
THE Namibian government’s failure to release the whole of a report on official corruption has underlined concerns that the authorities here are unwilling to tackle graft within their own ranks.
Prime Minister Hage Geingob tabled the final part of the report of the Frank Commission probe into governnment irregularities in Parliament two weeks ago, 16 months after it was handed over to President Sam Nujoma by commission chairman, Judge Theo Frank.
But the first three Frank Commission reports covering government irregularities from the time of Namibia’s independence in 1990 until 1992 have never been released, and no action has ever been taken on the findings. Nor does it appear that any action has been taken on recommendations of the final released section of the report.
The fact that allegations dating back to 1990 remain unresolved has fuelled speculation that the government is turning a blind eye to corruption particularly when it concerns senior members of the ruling party, the South West African People’s Organisation (Swapo).
Allen Liebenberg, general secretary of one Namibia’s smaller opposition parties, the United Democratic Front, claims that the Frank reports are being withheld to hide the depth of corruption they uncovered. As a result of government inaction, he says, “Corruption has become the order of the day.”
The unreleased findings of the Frank report are believed to deal with pension fraud, the flouting of tender board regulations and the irregular acquisition of communal farming land by politicians.
Geingob has said the significance of the Frank report has been exaggerated by the media. He told national television that the Frank findings mainly concerned the actions of officials from the previous administration before independence.
But the Frank Commission saga is not the only instance of long-running government probes either failing to resolve allegations or having their findings ignored.
In 1994 the current Minister of Justice Ngarikutuke Tjiriange and the then deputy minister of home affairs, Nangolo Ithete, were found to have misused drought aid to drill boreholes at an ostrich farm they owned in a communal farming area.
Despite damning evidence presented by a probe chaired by the head of Namibia’s Public Service Commission, Willie Brits, the government refused to take any action against the two ministers.
Cases against government officials accused of misconduct also take years rather than months to clear up. The head of the state veterinary laboratory, Otto Hubschle, is facing long-standing allegations concerning the irregular production and sale of animal vaccines in Angola and Namibia, dating back to 1992. He has now had his misconduct hearing postponed until February next year.
In the meantime, the failure to resolve the case is affecting South African confidence in the quality of Namibian beef imports, according to veterinary sources.
There are fears that the failure to punish those found responsible is encouraging more official fraud. This year the government has been rocked by claims that food intended for use in its drought relief scheme has been diverted for private profit. The case is currently the subject of a police investigation. Two weeks ago the head of Namibia’s state housing company was arrested in connection with allegations that R10- million intended for a low-income housing scheme had been stolen.
Hartmut Ruppel, a board member of the Namibian chapter of the anti-corruption organisation, Transparency International, and a Swapo MP, has expressed concern at the slow pace of official probes.
“The wheels of justice don’t turn like an electric motor, but they should at least turn,” he says. Ruppel would like to see institutions like the Tender Board and the office of the ombudsman beefed up to prevent future corruption cases. He cites Nujoma’s recent order of 800 Chevrolet vehicles from General Motors in Detroit for R146-million as a case in which the Tender Board was bypassed.
“Even if there is no corruption, if there is a lack of openness one does not have the same confidence in the transaction,” Ruppel says.